Deck Statistics from YCS Dallas

March 19th, 2011

The September 2010 format is over, and Six Samurais took the last victory of it in YCS Dallas. Six Samurais, which were represented by less than 2% of the field at YCS Atlanta, jumped up to the most popular Deck in Dallas, representing 16.3% of the field at the most recent YCS! The release of Storm of Ragnarok, and the introduction of the Legendary Six Samurais, prompted this surge in popularity, and allowed Six Samurais to take the top spot. But with Gateway of the Six now Limited and lots of other Decks affected by the March 2011 Forbidden & Limited List, anything can happen this weekend!The Top 5 Decks in Dallas

Although the new format is likely to bring about completely new Decks, the popular Decks from the previous format are usually a strong indicator of which Decks Duelists will start experimenting with when picking a Deck for their next tournament. Let’s take a look back at the 5 most popular Decks from the final YCS of the September 2010 format, in order to gain some insight into what Duelists may be running this weekend.

1.) Six Samurais

Six Samurais, which represented 16.3% of the field in Dallas, appeared to be the “Deck to beat” in Dallas, as Duelists everywhere struggled to find ways to eliminate the opponent’s Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En and along with the big swarms of Samurais enabled by Gateway of the Six. Strong anti-Samurai tech emerged in the form of Puppet Plant, Kinetic Soldier, and Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo, but in the end, nothing could stop the Six Samurais from taking the championship win.

Even though Gateway of the Six is now Limited, many Duelists are staying loyal to their Samurais and using it in today’s tournament. Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En is still a difficult monster for opponents to destroy, and Six Samurai Decks still have the ability to swarm the field and wipe out all of an opponent’s Life Points at once. Time will tell whether the Limitation on Gateway of the Six spells the end of the Six Samurai dominance, or whether Six Samurais will still be able to make it to the top.

2.) Blackwings

Blackwings, representing 16.1% of the field at YCS Dallas, saw a slight boost in popularity since YCS Atlanta. Some Duelists in Dallas saw Icarus Attack as an easy way to destroy an opponent’s Gateway of the Six or Six Samurai United, and chose to run Blackwings as a way of handling Six Samurai Decks. Others just enjoy the Deck’s ability to rapidly Synchro Summon a variety of monsters and dish out fast damage. With Blackwing – Kalut the Moon Shadow Limited by the new Forbidden & Limited List, Icarus Attack now Semi-Limited, and Goyo Guardian Forbidden, it’s unclear whether or not Blackwing Decks will be popular this weekend. But cautious Duelists aren’t counting them out just yet, and they arrived at the tournament scene prepared to face some Blackwing Decks.

3.) Plant Synchro

Plant Synchro Decks were also popular in Dallas, despite their lack of Day 2 success. Approximately 8% of the field ran a Plant Synchro Deck, enticed by the field-clearing ability of Black Rose Dragon. With Dandylion now Limited and Debris Dragon Semi-Limited, Plant Synchro Decks took a big hit from the March 2011 Forbidden & Limited List. But Plant Synchro Duelists are some of the most loyal to the theme, and the Deck is sure to see some play here this weekend.

4.) Gravekeeper’s

Despite only being represented by 3.6% of the field at YCS Atlanta, Gravekeeper’s were able to secure the top 3 spots in the YCS. In Dallas, the popularity of Gravekeeper’s drastically increased, as the Deck was piloted by approximately 6% of the field. The success of Gravekeeper’s in Atlanta is undoubtedly responsible for this climb in popularity, but Duelists fearing the poor matchup that Gravekeeper’s Decks had against Six Samurais in Dallas, were unwilling to switch over to the tomb keepers.

Gravekeeper’s lost only a single copy of Royal Tribute as a result of the March 2011 Forbidden & Limited Card List, and will greatly benefit from the changes that weaken other Decks, like the Limitation of Gateway of the Six, Blackwing – Kalut the Moon Shadow, and Dandylion. Consequently, there’s a good chance we’ll see an even greater rise in the popularity of Gravekeeper’s this weekend.

5.) Frog Monarchs

Hopping up from a 2% representation in Atlanta to a 5% representation in Dallas, Frog Monarchs jumped up to the 5th monster popular Deck in Atlanta, even surpassing X-Sabers in popularity! Many Duelists anticipating a strong showing from Six Samurais chose to use Frog Monarchs in an effort to counter them. Main Decked copies of Battle Fader stave off the OTKs that Six Samurai Decks are capable of, while Caius the Shadow Monarch and Raiza the Storm Monarch eliminate Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En before its effect becomes a problem. With Frog Monrachs essentially untouched by the recent Forbidden & Limited List, there’s a good chance we’ll see Frog Monarch Decks become even more popular this weekend.

Welcome to YCS Charlotte!

With the entire game shaken up by the March 2011 Forbidden & Limited Card List, it’s hard to predict which Decks will be the most popular ones this weekend. The recent release of Structure Deck: Dragunity Legion and Elemental Hero The Shining muddle predictions even more, by granting Dragunities and Elemental Heroes the potential to become top contenders.

Old Decks like Gladiator Beasts and X-Sabers, which were always powerful and mostly untouched by the new List, may also be able to rise to the top in the new format. Other Decks, which were helped by the changes made in the new List, have also been given an opportunity to rise to the top. Chaos Decks, for example, which were played by less than 1% of the field at YCS Dallas, may have new popularity this weekend now that Duelists can run 3 copies of Chaos Sorcerer in their Decks.

The field is wide open, and any Deck or Duelist may win. Stay with the coverage to find out who will become the first YCS Champion under the March 2011 Forbidden & Limited List, and to see which Deck will triumph and set the pace going forward in the format!